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Post by Deleted on Jun 14, 2016 15:50:20 GMT
Most of us attending shows have experienced that Best Night Ever feeling...
Mine isn't even my favourite show ever. That's something completely different again.
Sometimes, what makes a show experience great is a mixture of things- a great show (that one's fairly obvious); the company you're with (it might be the love of your life, a group of your favourite friends, maybe even when you're on your own); where you happen to be (your first visit to Broadway, London, Sydney?); when (is it a long balmy night, or is the snow gently falling as you leave?); a romantic meal beforehand, a successful autograph afterwards, part of a trip of a lifetime...
It might not even be a show as such; it could be a theatrical event (i.e. an anniversary concert of a show). But it must be theatre linked. It can't be a pop/rock concert. A matinee substituted for an evening is allowed!
Mine: Cirque du Soleil's O in Las Vegas- I had heard loads about the show in advance and seen promotional videos for it. The evening in question came towards the end of a holiday of a lifetime, staying in a hotel on the strip. I was with my partner, and both of us couldn't believe we we there. We'd gone to the theater (NB spelling!) in a taxi on a beautifully warm summer night, and had cocktails in one of Bellagio's lounges before the show with dinner booked for straight after. The tickets cost a small fortune. The theater itself was something of stunning beauty in itself. And then water dripped through a big hole in the ceiling. Theatrically, you understand! (Eau. Geddit?) As the lights dimmed, I fell under O's spell, and I couldn't actually believe what I was watching, as each scene got better and better. (If any of you have seen it you might know what I'm talking about.) The last scene reduced me to tears... I was speechless as we walked out, and off to the restaurant, but in my head I was telling myself that it had been worth every single cent, and I would happily travel back to Vegas just to see it again. (Which I have done.)
Over to you.
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19,856 posts
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Post by BurlyBeaR on Jun 14, 2016 17:22:31 GMT
High end: Sunset with Glenn. The months and months of anticipation, then knowing it was all worth it.
Low end: Xanadu at the SP. Best twenny quid I ever spent. When that Centaur walked on I nearly wet myself.
(No boyfriends necessary on either occasion!)
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Post by oxfordsimon on Jun 14, 2016 17:31:13 GMT
For me, the greatest impact a play ever had on me was when I saw the national tour of Richard III with McKellan. I left the theatre and wandered the streets of Oxford unable to talk - it had that much of an effect on me.
It is hard now to remember much of the detail - but I still remember the feeling of being so blown away that it was hard to fully comprehend at the time.
I have seen a lot of very good (and very bad) Shakespeare since that - but it still ranks as the most powerful piece of theatre I have so far experienced.
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171 posts
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Post by musicalfloozie on Jun 14, 2016 17:38:09 GMT
Mine was April last year.
I've listened to Les Mis for as long as I can remember. For years I heard it booming up the walls whilst mum and dad had the record player blasting out whilst us kids tried to sleep, and it is my all time favourite musical.
I went to NYC for my honeymoon and 30th birthday and booked to see Les Mis on Broadway on my birthday. It was my first time seeing it live. I know the OCR off my heart and know all the notes and lines so was so worried I wouldn't enjoy it as much as hearing Colm and Michael etc but I was blown away, Ramon was a fab JVJ and the cast were phenomenal. I don't think I have ever been so engrossed in a performance before and would go back in a heart beat to see it. But for now I have to stick to my CD singing me off to sleep. I think it will be one of those days in 40 years to come I will still remember by NYC birthday extravaganza.
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19,856 posts
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Post by BurlyBeaR on Jun 14, 2016 17:43:02 GMT
For me, the greatest impact a play ever had on me was when I saw the national tour of Richard III with McKellan. I left the theatre and wandered the streets of Oxford unable to talk - it had that much of an effect on me. It is hard now to remember much of the detail - but I still remember the feeling of being so blown away that it was hard to fully comprehend at the time. I have seen a lot of very good (and very bad) Shakespeare since that - but it still ranks as the most powerful piece of theatre I have so far experienced. I remember hearing Germaine Greer on the radio a few years sgo talking about how she hated Shakespeare's plays, and that it hadn't been helped by Ian McKellan insisting on getting his cock out in them all the time, especially when the play was on the curriculum and the theatre full of kiddies. She he was promoting her own book on Ann Hathaway at the time. |
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Post by Deleted on Jun 14, 2016 18:00:32 GMT
Mine was April last year. I've listened to Les Mis for as long as I can remember. For years I heard it booming up the walls whilst mum and dad had the record player blasting out whilst us kids tried to sleep, and it is my all time favourite musical. I went to NYC for my honeymoon and 30th birthday and booked to see Les Mis on Broadway on my birthday. It was my first time seeing it live. I know the OCR off my heart and know all the notes and lines so was so worried I wouldn't enjoy it as much as hearing Colm and Michael etc but I was blown away, Ramon was a fab JVJ and the cast were phenomenal. I don't think I have ever been so engrossed in a performance before and would go back in a heart beat to see it. But for now I have to stick to my CD singing me off to sleep. I think it will be one of those days in 40 years to come I will still remember by NYC birthday extravaganza. I had a little tear in my eye reading this...  |
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655 posts
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Post by ptwest on Jun 14, 2016 19:32:31 GMT
I think for me it was attending the Mamma Mia 10th anniversary night. It was a combination of things - I hawked the ticket site and box office for ages beforehand and even arranged holiday dates on the offchance , so (after some fabulous customer service from the BO team) I couldn't quite believe we were there, in prime seats. Add to that the champagne and celebrity spotting, we had a fabulous night even before the show started. As a lifelong Abba fan, a big part of wanting to go was just in case any of Abba turned up - which of course they did. I have been lucky enough to see so many megastars perform but have never been so star struck as seeing Benny and Bjorn on stage at the end. The show was on top form too, Linzi Hatley in particular was fabulous. So even though this is not my favourite show, the combination of events and circumstances made it something unforgettable.
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Post by Deleted on Jun 14, 2016 20:14:08 GMT
Faust. Punchdrunk. In an empty warehouse in darkest Wapping.
Mind blown, It changed my life in many ways.
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617 posts
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Post by loureviews on Jun 14, 2016 20:49:07 GMT
Both times I saw The Crucible. West Yorkshire Playhouse in 1996, and the Old Vic in 2014.
Henry IV part 2 at Stratford with David Troughton as the old king. He was incredibly good.
King Lear with Tom Courtenay at Manchester Royal Exchange.
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5,250 posts
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Post by Being Alive on Jun 14, 2016 21:34:22 GMT
Miss Saigon 25th Anniversary was undoubtedly the greatest theatrical experience of my life. I wasnt even born in 1989 but was OBSESSED with the show from about 2006 onwards. So to see Lea sing that music again was truly something I will treasure forever.
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2,065 posts
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Post by Marwood on Jun 14, 2016 22:03:25 GMT
The Beauty Queen Of Leenane starring Susan Lynch at the Young Vic in 2010, I just thought everything about it was excellent, close call in second place is/was Glengarry Glen Ross on Broadway in 2012 starring Al Pacino, Bobby Cannavale, John C. McGinley & co - to be honest the actual play wasn't that amazing (take away the Alec Baldwin scene from the film and the whole thing seems a bit bereft), but the excitement of seeing someone like Al Pacino onstage in what was one of the first previews of the show was amazing, the atmosphere was electric.
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2,051 posts
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Post by infofreako on Jun 14, 2016 22:04:02 GMT
Its a tricky one this, many nights that have been special for different reasons. The one I tend to think back to most is Aida at Opera Verona.
It was a perfect night. The opera itself, the setting, atmosphere, wonderful company.
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Post by Deleted on Jun 15, 2016 0:01:02 GMT
Seeing The Color Purple on Broadway (before Cynthia deservedly won the Tony) - as close to musical perfection as I think I'll ever get.
For sheer fun and atmosphere, the closing night of We Will Rock You - it was almost more like being at a gig than a show, and the cast were phenomenal.
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243 posts
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Post by musicallady on Jun 17, 2016 11:19:54 GMT
70 Girls 70 at the Forum Theatre, Billingham.
Only went as it had been a while since I'd been to the theatre. Dora Bryan was amazing. The cast were laughing as much as we were. Brilliant night.
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4,046 posts
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Post by Dawnstar on Jun 17, 2016 12:24:18 GMT
It is very difficult to pick just one evening but perhps when I went to Munich in 2006 to see Der Rosenkavalier. One of my favourite sopranos, Dame Felicity Lott, was singing her last ever performance as the Marschallin. I found out a few months earlier and persuaded my mother to come to Germany with me for my 21st birthday present. The production & cast were excellent and I cried through large amounts of the opera (to me this is a good thing, if Rosenkavalier doesn't make me cry then the production has failed). It was also nice seeing Munich. I don't go abroad that much and this is so far the only time I have been to opera abroad.
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Post by Deleted on Jun 17, 2016 12:24:43 GMT
Still has to be my first theatre trip ever at 13 to Jesus Christ Superstar. It was like discovering there was a completely new world I had no idea about (never seen so much as a pantomime). Seemed like a great adventure going without an adult too.
40 odd years later I still get a small thrill of anticipation on my way to the theatre. I consider myself very lucky to have discovered this so young and still get so much pleasure from it.
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341 posts
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Post by adrianics on Jun 17, 2016 12:33:34 GMT
Going to see the final Saturday night preview of The Book of Mormon in 2013 (God, was it *really* that long ago?). I can honestly say it's the best audience I've ever been in for anything, the atmosphere was positively electric and the audience immaculately behaved, not a whisper to be heard or a phone in sight, and raucous laughter and applause in all the right moments. The cast was absolutely sensational with not a single performance from the lead to the dance captain being anything short of outstanding, and it was just so amazing to be in that theatre when everybody involved in any way was clearly just so thrilled and excited that BOM had finally made it to the West End. I still smile thinking about it!
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8,211 posts
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Post by alece10 on Jun 17, 2016 12:51:07 GMT
High end: Sunset with Glenn. The months and months of anticipation, then knowing it was all worth it. Low end: Xanadu at the SP. Best twenny quid I ever spent. When that Centaur walked on I nearly wet myself. (No boyfriends necessary on either occasion!) I so loved Xanadu at Southwark. Dont think ive laughed as much in years. |
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Post by alece10 on Jun 17, 2016 12:56:06 GMT
Its a difficult one but I am going to narrow it down to two.
Les Mis 25th Anniversary at O2, for the sheer spectacle of it. I think i was blubbing through most of it.
Liza Minnelli Stepping Out concert at the RAH several years ago. All tickets sold out, phoned the box office every day to see if any returns. On the last call they told me that Liza had hired the RAH that night to do a midnight concert for people in the "industry" to come along after their own shows and if any member of the public called they could offer tickets at £10.
So midnight concert, 3rd row of the arena, audience full of people still on overdrive after performing in their own shows that evening and Liza, who had just done one show, coming on and doing another for 3 hours. It was the most amazing night. Cant even remember how I got home afterwards but I remember the sun was coming up.
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1,936 posts
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Post by wickedgrin on Jun 17, 2016 12:59:10 GMT
Something a little different....
As a small child, perhaps 8 or 9 I was taken to my local Parish Hall to see an amateur Youth produciton of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain. So far so bad you might think. But for me it was a magical production. I remember a scene set on a raft on the river which just consisted of a huge blue cyc, dry ice floating on the stage and the actors in the middle with a paddle. So simple yet so effective. From that moment I was completely entranced and vowed to find out more about that magical stage world and so my love of the theatre was born.....
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Post by Deleted on Jun 17, 2016 13:18:24 GMT
Oh, these are wonderful, wonderful recollections...
Aren't we lucky to have discovered this world?
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Post by CBP1 on Jun 17, 2016 13:19:54 GMT
Rachel Tucker's first "last" Wicked show. The atmosphere was amazing. People openly blubbing at the interval. I managed not to cry until she changed the line to "for the last time I feel wicked". Then I lost it. My emotional state probably wasn't assisted by having had very little sleep* and seeing both the mat and evening performance in one day.
*Yes, I was one of those people. In my "defence", I only camped for one night and spent much of it thinking I wasn't quite mad enough to be in that queue.
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841 posts
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Post by Steffi on Jun 17, 2016 13:34:04 GMT
Last performance of The Drowned Man. Incredible atmosphere, cast switching half way through, the most stunning finale followed by the loudest cheering I have ever heard after a theatrical performance.
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Post by trapdoor on Jun 17, 2016 13:38:23 GMT
People, Places and Things the night after Denise rightly won her Oliver. I was in the onstage seats, blown apart by her performance and when she came on for a second curtain call carrying her award with a nerdy, 'OMG how did I even get this' kind of look and danced around the stage with the cast while the audience erupted in cheers was awesome.
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Post by Nicholas on Jun 17, 2016 14:29:41 GMT
People, Places and Things the night after Denise rightly won her Oliver. I was in the onstage seats, blown apart by her performance and when she came on for a second curtain call carrying her award with a nerdy, 'OMG how did I even get this' kind of look and danced around the stage with the cast while the audience erupted in cheers was awesome. I saw it on its last night at the Dorfman (front row, thanks Friday Rush!), where the atmosphere was electric (and Hattie Morahan was in the audience!). At the end, it cuts to black, the lights come up, and... You’ve never heard such pitifully ‘polite’ applause. Slight clapping and mostly silence. It was like no-one had liked the play. And then, about ten seconds later, something happened. We all recovered. It was bizarre, but clearly everyone there felt the need to just sit, just be quiet, just reflect, and just absorb that stunning ending; a good ten seconds of quiet later, we rose as one, whooped, cheered, and the applause went on for five minutes, ten minutes? One reads about premieres, lifetimes ago, of Chekhov or Noel Coward where the audience applaud all night ("tiara'd women clapped till the seams of their gloves burst"), and this is the closest to that I’ve ever seen in our quaint desensitised capital. It was an ovation and a half, while Gough ran round the stage, punching the air, like a victory lap – much as I keep saying how great the script and show and other cast were (and it's true), it will be Gough’s performance that goes down in history, I genuinely believe that, and on that final night we clearly wanted to let her know that this was historical. Absolutely one of my best nights in the theatre, what a reaction, a beautiful way to wrap up a stunning show. I bet it’ll be electric this Saturday. Wish I could go.
In fact, one of the joys of theatre is, despite its ephemerality, shows have an outer life that’s far from ephemeral. Having only caught the end of PPT’s NT run, I’ve loved, truly loved loved loved, reading the slowpokes amongst you finally get to see it and finally love love love it yourselves. It’s meant, selfishly, that I’ve gotten to experience the show again and again and again and again and again and given what a special one-off it is – stunning new play, perfect director, hugely underrated supporting cast and DENISE DENISE DENISE DENISE DENISE – it’s been such a pleasure to discuss it further, virtually see it a hundred times, keep reliving that night. Because absolutely, what a night!
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